臊 meaning and stroke order
Shy, bashful; rank, fetid; the smell of urine
How to write 臊, stroke by stroke
17 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 臊
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to smell of urine (or sweat etc)
- shame
- bashfulness
- to shame
- to humiliate
How 臊 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Flesh.
⺼ gives the meaning and 喿 hints at the sound.
Radical: ⺼ (meat), shared by 176 characters on this site.
How to remember 臊
The flesh radical ⺼ on the left points to the body, and 喿 (zào) on the right gives the sound. Picture a body that smells, which leads to both meanings: a rank odor, and the embarrassment of being noticed.
Read sāo, it describes a strong, unpleasant smell like urine, sweat, or the gamey smell of some meat, as in 臊味 (sāowèi). Read sào, it means shame, most often in the set word 害臊 (hàisào). Example: 你真不害臊。(Nǐ zhēn bú hàisào.) You really have no shame.
Common mistake: Learners often read 害臊 as hàisāo, but here the character takes the fourth tone: hàisào. Also do not confuse 臊 with 燥 (zào, dry) or 躁 (zào, restless), which share the same right side but have different radicals.
Common words with 臊
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 害臊 | hàisào | to be bashful; to feel ashamed | HSK 7-9 |
臊 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 臊
How many strokes are in 臊?
臊 is written with 17 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 臊 mean?
臊 (sāo) means shy, bashful; rank, fetid; the smell of urine. A common word with it is 害臊 (hàisào), meaning "to be bashful; to feel ashamed".
How do you pronounce 臊?
臊 is pronounced sāo, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 臊?
The radical of 臊 is ⺼, which carries the idea of "meat". Dictionaries list 臊 under this radical.
Is 臊 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 臊 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 臊 different from 臭 (chòu)?
臭 is the general word for anything that stinks. 臊 is a specific kind of smell, the sharp odor of urine, sweat, or foxy, gamey animals. Many fishy or meaty smells are described with 腥 (xīng) instead.
Is 害臊 rude to say to someone?
不害臊 (bú hàisào, shameless) can be a real criticism, but it is often used playfully between friends or toward children. 害臊 on its own just means feeling shy or embarrassed and is quite colloquial.